


Night of the Lethbridge-Stewart II

by sleepismyfriend



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-27
Updated: 2014-07-27
Packaged: 2018-02-10 16:39:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2032215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepismyfriend/pseuds/sleepismyfriend
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alistair finds he's been brought from the not-so-distant past for more than one reason, really.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Night of the Lethbridge-Stewart II

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Night of the Lethbridge-Stewart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1056683) by [sleepismyfriend](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepismyfriend/pseuds/sleepismyfriend). 



> I've been told I have a dark spot where the Brigadier and Sarah Jane are concerned, and it's stifling all the other writinglike endeavors. I mean, it makes sense, really. Though I'm quite sure there's more to it than that.

They've been sitting in silence for almost ten minutes, Kate's head resting atop her father's. The tears about Zygons and seeing him have long faded, but her arms around him have remained solid, and Alistair hopes it's enough.

"I should try and find the Doctor. Somehow, I doubt in that young face of his that he can sit still for very long. He couldn't with his other ones, at any rate," Alistair says, his voice remaining steady, as flashes of a coloured scarf, a grey-haired model, and a question mark red umbrella coast through the back of his mind. 

Kate lifts her head, and Alistair kisses her left cheek. 

"No, I'm quite sure he cannot. Thank heavens he keeps a companion handy." She wipes her eyes once more, making sure the burning behind them is the only remnant left of her tears. "Will you come back after?" 

Kate's eyes widen and her lip quivers at the question despite her best attempt to control them. "Say a proper goodbye?" 

"Of course," he says, nodding. Kate's head lowers.

"I really thought I had made a mess of things today, Dad. I'm so sorry," she says, pausing as though the mess with the Zygons hasn't already been dissected thoroughly, and there's still more to be said. 

Alistair puts a finger under her chin, lifting it so her eyes meet his. "No more apologies. There's nothing you did today that I wouldn't have done, and I couldn't be more proud of you."

Kate smiles before she loosens her arms, piecing her outer façade back together by standing, and stepping back. She crosses her arms, watching as Alistair stand with relative ease, and make his way towards the door.

"Dad, are you sure you'll be alright?" 

"It's not as if everyday I allow the Doctor to run off all willy-nilly with me." He looks over his shoulder, smirking. "I'm sure I'll be fine."

\--

Alistair walks down the corridors with his hands in his pockets, somewhat relaxed, though passing the occasional enlistee in a red beret forces him ramrod straight for several seconds out of a lifetime of habit. He doesn't know exactly where he's allowed to go, and where he isn't, but that matters little. The Tower is impressive as a secret UNIT stronghold.

He steps outside, the TARDIS sitting where he and the bowtied Doctor had left it. Moonlight streams across the Thames, allowing for extra light with the nearby lampposts.

"He's not here, the one you're looking for." A deep voice beckons towards him, and Alistair turns left, to see an older gentleman not quite matching the face he knows, moving towards him. He hears the clicks of the man's cane against the cobblestones. "Though I suppose you know that already."

"It doesn't exactly surprise me, no," Alistair says, sighing.

"The ravens are exquisite tonight." The gentleman shifts his head towards the river. "Flying in perfect formation. I must commend Dr Taylor on his work." 

"I've only seen the prototypes," Alistair says, squinting in the darkness to see the dark birds the gentleman refers to. "Never the actual thing."

"Pity." The gentleman is close enough that Alistair sees the white curls and rather familiar large eyes that frame this man's face. "One of their tiny batteries could power all of South Croydon and most of Bromley with clean renewable energy. As it is, Osgood reminds me they're not mine to appropriate. We won't tell her of their potential with Xylok crystals, eh?"

The gentleman's blue eyes twinkle. 

"I don't suppose you want to tell me what you're doing here? The last time I saw this particular you, we were both much younger looking men."

"Oh, I think you know why." The gentleman's expression softens, and he looks towards the river. "I'm not him. Not anymore."

"You act as though there can be a difference."

"There can, and there is. I'm retired now. A curator of precious artefacts from Earth and beyond, if you can imagine it. I answer to one sky, and one sky alone."

"I didn't think the word 'retired' was in your vernacular, Doctor. Not that I have ever been much better at it the times I've tried."

"Yes, well, do you know what makes for a happy ending, Brigadier?" 

"I do," Alistair says, nodding. "Peace."

"It's all any man—Any being could ever ask for," the Doctor replies. "We waited too long for it, you and I."

"I suppose."

"She doesn't know it yet, but your Kate is quite a marvellous human being. The better parts of you, obviously."

"Obviously," Alistair says, with a chuckle. 

"Our precious window is closing. Like you, I too must depart. Goodbye, old friend." The Doctor motions to the TARDIS. "Don't let the bowtie whiz you about, eh? Make him land you properly."

Alistair nods. "I will."

He watches the Doctor walk away, the cane once again clicking against the cobblestones.

"Your story is hardly over, Brigadier." The Doctor calls over his shoulder. "You should take every advantage while you are still able. I know I have."

\--

Alistair finds the Doctor with the bowtie on the main floor, past the locked gift shop, and on to the cafeteria. He notes the rather dimmed lights as he enters, and the single Time Lord sitting in the centre of the room.

"You were right, Doctor," Alistair says, moving to sit, as the Doctor lifts his head. "Kate needed the reassurance that everything is going to be alright."

"Of course," the Doctor says, finishing his latest swipe of popcorn by wiping the back of his hand across his mouth. He leans forward. "You're her dad. The man she places on the highest pedestal, and by whose stringent standards she holds herself."

"UNIT is important to me, yes. But, Kate will always be far more." Alistair stares at the table. He lifts his eyes. "I suppose that's why you brought me here."

"I dunno," the Doctor says. "Perhaps, Kate wasn't the only reason." 

Alistair smirks, leaning back in his chair. He thinks of his conversation with the other Doctor. 

"Tell me what's bothering you."

"You've been my friend for almost one thousand years, and I'm on my umpteenth life. I have more faces behind me than ahead of me."

Alistair's eyebrow lifts, reminding the Doctor of another friend, and former scientist from Cambridge. 

"I wasn't aware Time Lords had midlife crises." 

"Well, we do every now and again." The Doctor shuffles his hands together, lacing and unlacing his fingers. "Especially when we meet our other selves when we're not supposed to. It reminds us of where we've come from, and what hideous fashions we've corrected since then."

A pause.

"Go on."

"I've done something, and I don't know what it is until it happens." The Doctor's eyes widen, slight fear seeping into them. "And what if none of comes to fruition, or today was a paradox, and I've risked all of us by something as senseless as bringing you here to comfort Kate."

"Doctor, you're unusually irrational this go round. I'm sure nothing we've done here has spawned anything else of the kind. Provided, of course that you get me back to where I came from. Though, I am rather surprised Kate didn't tell me about the other Doctors herself. We developed protocols years ago for that sort of thing."

"About that—I'm not sure how I feel about being handled as a protocol by you or your daughter." The Doctor crosses his arms. 

"Why? At least we thought about you. Carefully, I might add, in case UNIT came across your incarnations out of order. We didn't want to add anymore harm to the space-time continuum than you and your TARDIS already do."

"I suppose." 

Alistair leans forward, placing his hands together. He thinks more on the Time Lord he encountered outside. "Is it that you saw your other selves, Doctor, or that you remembered the men you used to be?" 

"I saw the man I might become," the Doctor says, a frown appearing. "And without discussing it further, it could be a past me gone rogue, a future me that chose a former face, an alien with a weird twisty aging device that tortures people—" 

"Doctor—" 

"Right, irrational, I remember." He taps his right temple. "I've done things in recent centuries I'm not proud of. Made decisions that I wouldn't wish on another being in the universe, and it's beginning to catch up with me at an alarming rate."

"Haven't we all? Sometimes, things happen that are out of anyone's control. Including yours, I'm afraid."

"Possibly."

"You could have comforted my daughter instead of seeking me out. Saved yourself a trip and any potential consequences."

"Alright, I'll admit I needed you. It's pretty hard trying to find an equal equivalent of you on days like today. I'm not only reminded of the man I used to be, I saw the man I could become, and on top of that there were Zygons running about. Not exactly a great combination."

Alistair watches the Doctor's expression shift to something unreadable.

"I understand and appreciate the sentiment, really. But, this place isn't mine, not anymore," he says, looking up and around before sighing. "We've completed our mission. I think it's high time you took me back."

The Doctor nods. 

"Though, after all these years, I have learned to always be at the ready for a good adventure," Alistair says, a small smile appearing. "So long as the universe allows it. You never know who might appear to need saving."

"Fair enough," the Doctor says. "Thank you for being here, Brigadier."

"As if I would have wanted to be anywhere else."


End file.
